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 CONTACT INFO: Therese Holliday, founder of The Wyatt Holliday Foundation, a 501c3 public charity (http://www.wyattshouse.org/), discovered that in the Washington State capitol of Olympia, there was very little support for families of children with any diagnosis other than Autism. While her son had been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, a form of high-functioning Autism, one of his closest friends was a boy diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and who lived life in a wheelchair or medical bed. Seeing the difficulties this family was experiencing determined that the new parent group not focus on one diagnosis but rather on the issues that all families with special needs children face, such as special education advocacy, medical advocacy, lack of support from extended family, nutrition, social misunderstanding and disregard, and more. Soon the group became part of the nonprofit as one of its community outreach programs. Our initial meeting took place at Starbucks at Barnes and Noble on Black Lake Blvd. in Olympia with 3 in attendance and has now expanded nationally with online features such as video and audio conferencing, online presentations, discussion boards, online swap meets and more. We hope to offer families a one-stop solution that mainstream media, doctors and the educational system don't offer: a place to connect and learn about lesser-known treatments, health and learning options, and to create their own family of friends who can connect, understand and support each other. While we are based in Olympia, WA we are able to allow families elsewhere, even internationally, to create groups and become affiliates of EFN with mentoring and all of the features available on this web site. FEEDBACK from our Families..."Exceptional Families Network has been an incredible resource for our family." -Patti/Chehalis "...has helped me to appreciate my son more for the wonderful person he is becoming daily." "...was able to give us referrals and support so that we were able to find outstanding services for our child. We credit this organization with saving our lives!" "...has been a great source of emotional support for my family." "There is a great attempt to be thorough and accurate in research and referrals. All topics so far have been very useful and informative. A great effort is put forth to help all families in every way. Everyone should find a small way to help somewhere, sometime. :)" "Every meeting brings new families, far-reaching ideas, hillarious stories and bonding. Kids have a great time coloring and creating and are able to visit Mom or Dad, which is greatly calming to the kids and enables many adults to attend. We always have a good time, are very vocal about defending what our children should have (or not) and are willing to help each other in many ways because we all understand. I am very thankful to have them in my life." — Therese Holliday (Aug 18, 2007) "This was great. I wish I could have stayed longer!" — Megan Jones (Aug 18, 2007) "it nice to hear of others problems/concerns with their children to help you realize your situation isn't unique." "We learned a lot and hope to attend future meeting" — Julio (Sep 18, 2006) "I hope Dave got some new scouters lined up! We'd love to have our oldest scout with these great kids! We were inspired by the motivation present in this group, and the open way things were discussed that NOBODY wants to talk about in any other venue. I HAVE TRIED, believe you me! Thank you, EFN families for giving me the connection that I have gone without for so long. I could say so much more, but I just want everyone who was there to know that we felt heard, seen, and cared for today. I, for one, could get used to that~ KK" "We look forward to more interaction with this group. Thanks to all who helped make it such a success! : )" "Great support group. Worth the drive" — Elizabeth Morse (Jun 19, 2006) "Thank you Therese Holliday! You're AMAZING" — Tammie Smith (May 20, 2006) "The group is great!" — Ann Varpness (May 20, 2006) "I am so happy to have somewhere to turn. This was just what I needed. Thank you all SO much! Sue" — Sue (Apr 17, 2006) "Our first encounter with them ---we're from King county." — Susan (Mar 11, 2006) "Everyone there had an opportunity to shared information, conserns issues and resources. It was worth investing my time I learned a lot. " — Debbie Sorrells (Jan 17, 2005) "Great people with great ideas and for the same challenges we share with the children." |
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